Life, Laughter and Love
by DustLight126
Summary: Christmas one shot. In the eleventh year of their reign, Peter and Anna celebrate Christmas with their siblings and the twins. But Christmas at Cair Paravel is sure to be eventful, with no shortage of mischief and mayhem from the twins! Filled with laughter, gifts, the occasional sip of wine and some surprises, this will surely be a Christmas to remember for years to come. Peter/OC


Hello everyone! For those of you who have just stumbled upon my existence, you'll need to read the previous three stories beginning with Choices, Change and Challenges if you want to understand what's going on! And for those of you who know me, I'm still working on the sequel and spin off, but I decided to write a little Christmas themed one shot in the spirit of the season and all of that. And also to test out the writing capacity on my iPad mini which my parents very generously bought for me! This is basically what I would imagine Christmas at Cair Paravel to be like for the Pevensies, and there's certainly no shortage of mischief from the twins! (Who are about 6 years old in this.) It's not too long or heavy; just for a little light reading really to keep you all going. I hope you all enjoy it, and that you're having a wonderful holiday! As always, feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think.

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Year Eleven

December

"Mum! Dad! Wake up, it's Christmas!" Josh yelled as he and Emma came charging in to our room, jumping on to the bed and subsequently Peter and I.

"All right, all right, we're up." Peter assured them with a laugh, grabbing one twin under each arm and hauling them up, the children giving squeals and giggles of delight.

I sat up slowly and groggily rubbed at my eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden intake of light and running a hand through my tattered hair.

"Come on mum, we can't go down without you!" Emma pleaded, jumping back up on to the bed and in to my lap.

"Just give me a minute." I replied sleepily, pulling Emma in to my arms and burying my face in her dark hair.

"Mummy, you're squishing me!" she protested with a giggle.

"I can do more than that!" I said with a smile, before beginning to tickle her sides as she squirmed and giggled under my grip.

"Mum!" she cried in between her loud peals of laughter, attempting to roll away from me. I then felt a pair of small arms around my shoulders, trying to pull me back.

"I'll save you, Em!" Josh exclaimed.

I then stopped tickling Emma and turned to Josh, "Ah, but who will save you?" I asked playfully before tickling him.

"Ah! Mum! Stop!" Josh gasped in between fits of laughter, rendered totally helpless and unable to do nothing more than lay there laughing and feebly attempt to push my hands away.

"Help!" he managed to cry breathlessly, still giggling and squirming.

Peter was his eventual saviour as he suddenly pulled him away and set him down on the floor, before turning to me with a mischievous smile that I knew all too well.

"Shall we see if mummy likes to be tickled?" he asked the twins innocently, whose faces lit up with devilish grins.

"Yes!" they chorused as Peter began to advance towards me.

"Don't you dare, Peter!" I warned playfully as I sprang from the bed, attempting to hide behind the bed post.

"I think it's only fair." he replied, matching my playful tone.

"You won't be saying that when I've injured you, and I can't be held responsible for any damage caused as a result." I told him seriously.

Peter laughed, "I'll take my chances."

He continued his advance towards me before I attempted to dodge past him and make a run for the door, but he easily caught me around the waist with one arm and drew me close to him before beginning to tickle my sides.

I sunk to my knees as I began to laugh, "Peter!" I exclaimed as I fell to my side, Peter's hands still on my waist and tickling me as he knelt next to me.

"Yes?" he asked with a laugh as I squirmed on the floor.

"Stop it!" I gasped between bursts of laughter. It was at that point Emma and Josh joined in, both of them attacking my side and stomach with their small hands.

"Ok! Ok! I give in!" I cried, gasping for air in between my fits of laughter.

All three immediately stopped and I breathed a sigh of relief, sitting up and rolling my eyes at their triumphant smiles, "I wouldn't look so pleased with myself if I were you." I said to Peter as we all stood.

He raised an eyebrow at me, "And why would that be?" he asked.

"Because you might just be left on your own under the mistletoe this year." I replied playfully.

Peter laughed as he put his arms around my waist and pulled me in close to him in one swift motion, "Not unless I do this." he said, before reaching down and kissing me before I could process what was happening.

This was then followed by protests from Emma and Josh, "Ew! Mum! Dad!" they exclaimed.

Peter and I then broke apart and turned to them, but Peter kept his arms around my waist, "What?" he asked, both of us laughing at the looks of disgust on their faces.

"You were kissing mummy." Emma said indignantly, wrinkling her nose.

"Thank you for pointing that out, Em." I replied with a laugh.

"You know, someday you'll want to kiss a boy." I added teasingly, but she looked horrified at the thought and shook her head vigorously.

"No way, I'm never kissing any boy." she stated defiantly.

"And I'm certainly never kissing any _girl_." Josh added.

"Just wait until you're older, son. You might change your mind then." Peter said with a laugh.

"But not until you are much older." I warned him, "But never mind that, let's go see if your aunts and uncle are awake yet."

After we had all put on our dressing gowns and slippers so that we wouldn't freeze in the hallways, we all made our way to the corridor. But when Peter opened the door to our apartment, we found Susan and Lucy on the other side, Susan's hand poised in mid air as she had been just about to knock.

"Oh good, you're up!" she said excitedly as she lowered her hand.

"We thought that maybe you'd all somehow slept in this year!" Lucy added teasingly.

"No chance of that, I'm afraid." I replied.

"You never were much of a morning person anyway, Anna." Susan pointed out with a laugh.

"She still isn't." Peter added with a grin, leading me to shoot him a playful glare.

"Where's uncle Ed?" Josh asked once he noticed his absence.

"I'm afraid your uncle Edmund isn't much of a morning person either." Lucy said with a laugh.

"But maybe if you two go and wake him, he might get out of bed for you." Peter suggested to the twins, who didn't fail to pick up the mischievous tone to their father's words and turned to each other with identical grins of eager anticipation.

"Something tells me that even then Edmund would still be disinclined to get out of bed." I said dryly.

"It's worth a try." Peter replied with a shrug, his smile never faltering.

The twins made their way silently down the corridor to their uncle's room, the four of us following behind. We gained entry to his apartment easily enough, before we all came to stand in front of the door to his bedroom. Peter silently counted to three, and at that the twins burst in to the bedroom with loud roars akin to a battle cry and charged at the bed. They easily jumped up on it and began to shake Edmund, who in his surprise rolled over and off the other side of the bed, hitting the floor with a dull thud. Peter, Susan, Lucy and I had all dissolved in to fits of laughter at this point, while Emma and Josh cheered triumphantly as Edmund sat up with a dazed expression.

"What the...?" he said slowly, glancing from the twins to us and then back to the twins. "I'll teach you to laugh, little monkeys!" Edmund warned with a grin before standing up and reaching for the twins.

They weren't able to retreat fast enough, and Edmund took one in each arm and placed them both over his shoulder, the children giving loud protests but giggling all the same.

"Put us down uncle Ed!" Emma called, beating her tiny fists against his back.

"We want to go open our presents now, but we can't without you!" Josh added, trying to wriggle free from Edmund's grip.

"Well, if you put it like that." Edmund said with a laugh, before finally placing the twins back on to the bed. "Come on, let's see if Father Christmas finally listened to me and left you both a sack of coal." he teased as they slid off the bed.

"If anyone around here deserves a sack of coal, it would be _you_, Ed." Peter pointed out as Emma and Josh joined us.

"Very funny, Pete." Edmund muttered.

Once the doors to the Great Hall had been opened, Emma and Josh wasted no time in racing towards the huge tree that glittered with the many decorations it had been carefully adorned with. The twins all but dove underneath the tree, before emerging with an armful of brightly wrapped presents each.

"See uncle Ed?" Emma called, "No coal!"

Edmund chuckled, "Don't worry Em, one of these days you'll get one." he called back to her, and she playfully stuck her tongue out at her uncle.

"Really Edmund, you're almost as incorrigible as the children." Lucy said as she picked up a small, neatly wrapped silver parcel.

"Almost?" I asked with mock surprise, "Don't you mean he's even more so?"

Edmund rolled his eyes at me, "Very funny, Anna."

I grinned at him before going to help Emma unwrap her presents as Peter did the same with Josh.

"Look mummy! Isn't she pretty?" Emma exclaimed as she pulled her new doll from it's box.

"She looks a lot like you, actually." I commented, picking up the doll and examining her closely. There was definitely a hint of a resemblance to Emma in the doll, but whether or not that was deliberate I did not know.

My attention was diverted regardless by Emma's squeal of delight, "And there's a whole box full of dresses for her!" she said enthusiastically, pulling a dark red ball gown from the piles of satin, fur and lace.

"You'll certainly be entertained for a while." I said with a smile as I helped her put the ball gown on the doll.

"And perhaps my gift will be put to good use." Susan added as she handed a bright green parcel to Emma, which when unwrapped revealed a wooden box filled to the brim with sewing tools and materials.

"Are you going to teach me to sew, auntie Su?" Emma asked excitedly.

"And are you sure needles are the best things to be giving to an over excitable six year old?" I asked warily.

"Don't worry Anna, they're only plastic ones for the moment. And she'll be perfectly safe with me as her teacher!" Susan assured me.

I had to admit defeat then, because no one within one hundred miles of Cair Paravel disputed Susan's skills as a seamstress.

A cry of delight attracted our attention, and we all turned to find Josh admiring a wooden sword and shield, Aslan's crest carefully painted on the front in a bright red. Peter and Edmund smiled widely at the sight of the gift, and I knew in their heads they were already thinking up training strategies.

"Don't even think about it!" I called over to them.

"Awww, come on Anna. Don't ruin our fun!" Edmund protested.

"He's a six year old child, it'll be dangerous enough letting him run around with a wooden sword never mind training with one!" I pointed out.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Anna on this one." Lucy spoke up, earning a glare from her brothers.

"We'll just teach him the basics." Peter said, attempting to bargain with us.

"Yes mummy, I want to learn how to fight like you and daddy!" Josh exclaimed, "Look, I can do this!"

This comment was swiftly followed by Josh hitting Peter and then Edmund in turn on the leg with his sword, both men cringing and clutching their legs in pain. Josh laughed as he darted out of sight before his father and uncle began to give chase.

"I think that just changed their minds." I said to Lucy and Susan with a laugh.

After finally tearing the twins away from their presents, we all changed in to our festive gowns and tunics for the day. By the time it came to early evening, the guests for our Christmas Ball began to arrive, and it wasn't long after that the party was fully underway. A large feast was laid out with plenty of food and drink, some of it Narnian and some of it most definitely not.

"Can I try some of that, mummy?" Emma asked hopefully as I took a sip of wine from my goblet.

I almost choked on the drink.

"Certainly not, Em." Peter said firmly as I attempted to cough subtly in to my napkin.

"Why not?" she asked innocently.

"Only adults can drink it." Peter replied patiently.

Emma frowned and looked to be deep in thought for a moment before speaking again, "But uncle Ed said he drank it all the time before he was supposed to." she said with confusion.

Peter and I exchanged a glance, before both of us glared down the table towards Edmund, who at that time was drinking from his own goblet and obviously trying to hide a smile. He stopped when he noticed the pointed looks Peter and I were sending him, and he slowly lowered the cup to the table.

"Is there a problem?" Edmund asked innocently.

"I'm going to kill you when they go to bed." I said evenly, and from the look on my face, Edmund knew I wasn't joking.

"Oh come on, Anna. I was just joking! And it's not as if I thought you and Peter would actually let them drink wine, for Aslan's sake." he defended.

I only continued to glare at him until he looked completely unsettled, before eventually turning away from him. A short while later, the food was cleared away and the dancing began.

"So, do you still think that training Josh with a sword is a good idea?" I asked Peter playfully as we danced.

He rolled his eyes at me but smiled all the same, "He will have to learn how to wield a sword at some point, you know." he pointed out.

"I know, but that will not be until he is much older." I warned.

"I don't know, he's got a pretty strong hit already." he replied teasingly.

I laughed, "And I suppose you and Edmund have the bruises to show for it?"

"I think you'll find they're called battle scars, my dear." he said, pretending to be deeply hurt by words.

"I've seen worse."

"Injuries inflicted by you, no doubt."

"I can't help it if you're easily distracted during spars."

Peter laughed, "That's because you're the one trying to distract me by flirting!" he exclaimed indignantly.

"It works, doesn't it? And you flirt right back." I replied, grinning up at him.

"I resent that accusation." he responded as the dance finished and we made our way back to our seats.

But once we were seated, Peter and I didn't fail to notice that Emma and Josh were much more giddy than they normally were, as they were practically falling over each other in fits of giggles at seemingly nothing. It wasn't until I saw the smirk on Edmund's face that I realised what had happened.

"So, are you sure you want to wait until they're in bed?" Peter asked darkly.

"No, now is perfectly fine." I replied, before stalking towards Edmund.

But once he saw me coming, he immediately jumped up from his chair and began to back away, "Anna, calm down, it was only a tiny sip each, they're just over excited." Edmund said soothingly, attempting to pacify me.

I remained silent as I continued my advance towards him, and we ended up outside in the courtyard next to the Great Hall. We both stopped in surprise as we realised it was lightly snowing, and that the ground was already covered in a thick layer of the soft white powder. I glanced from the snow and then to Edmund, before a sudden thought entered my head and I grinned at him.

Edmund stopped dead and his eyes widened slightly, "You wouldn't." he challenged.

_Oh, but I would._

Edmund began to run in an attempt to seek shelter as I bent down and scooped up a handful of the snow, before throwing it at his retreating back. He slipped slightly as the snowball hit him, but he quickly recovered and turned to face me with a mischievous smile as he too prepared a snowball. I attempted to hide behind a statue, but it was too small and I soon felt the impact of the snowball on my back. I shrieked in surprise, turning around to prepare to launch another attack, when Peter, Susan, Lucy, Emma and Josh all appeared. The twins were able to guess what was happening immediately, and they ran forward with loud yells towards their uncle, picking up handfuls of snow and throwing it at him in the process. Peter and I glanced at each other, wide smiles on both of our faces, before we too joined the attack.

"Why are you all attacking Edmund?" Susan called as she dodged an off target snowball.

"Does it matter?" I replied to her over my shoulder.

Susan and Lucy both exchanged a look before shrugging and joining us. But it wasn't long before it was every man, woman and child for themselves, and we all threw snowballs at who ever we saw first, our laughter and occasional cries of surprise ringing out in the cold night air. When we were all nearly soaked through and shivering, a loud bang and a burst of brightly coloured light in the sky attracted our attention.

"Look! Fireworks!" Josh cried excitedly, pointing up at the sky and staring at the display with fascinated wonder, Emma too transfixed by the fireworks and standing silently next to her brother.

Susan disappeared inside for a moment, only to re-emerge with Mr Tumnus and both of them holding stacks of thick blankets, "Everyone put these on, we don't want to be spending the next week in bed!" Susan ordered as she handed them out.

I pulled the blanket around me firmly, leaning against Peter a little as we all watched the fireworks, before he placed his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him.

"I was going to save this for later, but I really can't wait any longer." Peter whispered in my ear.

I gave him a confused look before he produced a red box from his pocket and handed it to me, "Happy Christmas, Anna." he said softly.

"I thought the tradition was no presents." I said faintly.

"No, the tradition is no buying presents. I made this myself." he corrected me with a small smile.

I took the box from him and opened it, a smile slowly spreading across my face when I saw the contents. Inside was a Christmas tree decoration that consisted of a miniature photo frame and a drawing of Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, the twins and me all sitting together and smiling brightly, our expressions ones of pure happiness.

I looked back up at Peter, "You never fail to surprise me, you know that?"

Peter laughed, "Good, because it would be very boring if I couldn't do that." he replied, before giving me a gentle kiss.

"I love you." I said quietly once we had broken apart.

Peter smiled at me, "I love you too."


End file.
